The movie is based on Tim McLoughlin's novel ''Heart of the Old Country'', which has Mike Manadoro (Kevin Zegers) as a 19-year-old Brooklyn boy who is torn between two worlds. When Mike's photography portfolio wins him a partial scholarship to New York University, he must figure out how to balance his tight-knit Italian neighborhood roots in Bay Ridge, Brooklyn with the opportunity to blend into the expansive, sophisticated world on the other side of the East River. Since his job at a local car service doesn't earn him enough to make up for the rest of the tuition, and his father, a retired sanitation worker on disability, refuses out of pride to support Mike's attempts for financial aid, Mike ultimately takes a job making deliveries for Tony, the local mob boss, to make up the difference.